On 09/22/2014 05:56 PM, Lisi Reisz wrote: > On Monday 22 September 2014 22:49:41 PaulNM wrote: >> On 09/22/2014 05:44 PM, Lisi Reisz wrote: >>> On Monday 22 September 2014 18:59:33 Joerg Desch wrote: >>>> Am Sun, 21 Sep 2014 11:45:23 +0200 schrieb Hans: >>>>>> Unison doesn't use rsync. As far as I know, Unison uses a rsync alike >>>>>> algorithm which is bidirectional, while rsync is only unidirectional. >>>>> >>>>> Nope, rsync is bidirectional, too. >>>> >>>> Are you shure? I'm only aware of the unidirectional sync. The man page >>>> tells me this as description: >>>> >>>> Rsync is a fast and extraordinarily versatile file copying tool. >>>> It can copy locally, to/from another host over any remote shell, or >>>> to/from a remote rsync daemon. >>>> >>>> Which option enables bidirectional syncing? How are conflicts handled? I >>>> could find the infos in the man page. >>> >>> Going purely by what you have written here: >>> >>> "It can copy locally to/from another host" etc. >>> >>> To ... one direction >>> From ... the other direction >>> >>> Bidirectional. >>> >>> Lisi >> >> Bidirectional copying, yes. Not bidirectional syncing. >> >> Critical difference ... :) > > Ah! Thanks. > > Lisi > >
Perhaps a better way to explain it for all present is that rsync can copy/sync in either direction, but it's Master-Slave syncing. Unison is Peer-Peer. Hence the need for conflict handling and other related stuff. I've used Unison before, for an employer's remote office to sync project files. That was years ago though, I'm sure it's even better now. Other alternatives are Dropbox, SpiderOak, OwnCloud, and BTSync. All have benefits and downsides when compared to one another. Some require centralized "Master" storage that you may or may not control, others don't. Some are opensource, others not so much. Some let you control the encryption, so even they can't see your files. To answer the OP, I use BTSync (Bittorrent Sync). It's very lightweight, supports multiple OS's and architectures, is pretty easy to configure, and doesn't require a "master" server to upload to first. I have it installed on my Linode server just so there's at least one computer running it all the time, but that's optional. It also doesn't require messing with firewalls to allow over the internet syncing. It used the DHT network to let your clients find each other, but the actual file transfers are direct and encrypted, without passing through other systems. It's not open source, though. I've experimented with OwnCloud in the past. Since my Linode is on 24/7, the master server requirement isn't as big of a deal. It's not as lightweight as BTSync, and the Android client isn't free. That said there are a bunch of other nice features like being able to log into the server and preview/download/upload stuff. It was several revisions ago, I believe OwnCloud has improved a fair bit since then. Questions for the OP: Is the Desktop always on? If so, it could be the master server. Do you want to sync even if the laptops are not home, not just have copies of the files on them? Do you want the laptops to sync with each other if the desktop isn't around? -PaulNM -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/5420aa50.5080...@paulscrap.com
